THE RIDDLE of the site of Jesus' 'first miracle' has baffled religious scholars for centuries.

But now academics claim to have solved the millennia-old mystery, bolstering the case for the New Testament's historical accuracy. The Gospel of John famously recounts the story of Jesus Christ turning water into wine during the Wedding at Cana. In the account, Jesus, his mother Mary and his disciples are invited to a wedding, and when the wine runs out, Jesus delivers a sign of his glory by turning water into wine.

Pilgrims have for hundreds of years believed the miracle site to be Kafr Kanna, a town in northern Israel near the Sea of Galilee. But in a bombshell development, archaeologists now believe the Cana of biblical times to actually be a dusty hillside five miles further north. And our pictures show precisely the location of the incredible find.

A number of compelling clues suggest the site is actually Khirbet Qana, a Jewish village which existed between the years of 323 BC and AD 324. Excavations have revealed a network of tunnels used for Christian worship, marked with crosses and references to Kyrie Iesou, a Greek phrase meaning Lord Jesus. There was also an altar and a shelf with the remains of a stone vessel, plus room for five more. Six stone jars like this held the wine in the biblical account of the miracle.

Dr Tom McCollough, who is directing excavations at the site, said there were three other sites with a credible claim to being the Cana of scripture. "But none has the ensemble of evidence that makes such a persuasive case for Khirbet Qana," he said. "We have uncovered a large Christian veneration cave complex that was used by Christian pilgrims who came to venerate the water-to-wine miracle. This complex was used at the beginning of the late fifth or early 6th Century and continued to be used by pilgrims into the 12th Century Crusader period."